5 Ways To Stay Motivated For CAT And Other MBA Entrance Exams

28 May, 2018

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By Sachin Mandot

Alumni | IMT Ghaziabad

There are 100s of videos on how to stay motivated for studies on the Internet. There are people who would keep on watching those videos, one speaker after other. Similarly, there are multiple self-help books for cat and even Quora isn’t aloof with this trend. I would ask you one question if it really worked, why would a person look for multiple such videos or books or Quora answers?

Let me tell one thing very clearly when it comes to CAT, the one and only person who can motivate you is the person in the mirror. Yes! It is time to pull those ‘I can do it’ posters from the wall and put some hard work that would put ‘I will do it’ confidence in you.

So the question is, is there a way to do it systematically? Well here’s how you can try:

1. CAT is a normal exam; it won’t eat you up:

Yes, CAT isn’t a demon and it perfectly ‘Crackable’. With the right amount of planning and hard work, many average students have scored high percentiles. If you think that any exam is tough, it becomes really tough.

2. Stop thinking about phases after CAT:

I have bad acads, would IIMs give me a call? I don’t have good extra-curricular; how would I convert b-school? I come across such questions every day from aspirants. Would IIM Ahmedabad give you a call if you have fantastic acads or extra-curricular but a really bad CAT percentile? Your only goal before CAT should be to do exam well and get a good score, rest all can be taken care later. By doing this, you stay singularly focused and channelize all your energy into one activity.

3. Let your performance motivate you:

Create an excel performance tracker for mock tests and sectional tests. Every time you make a mistake, or particularly bad at a topic, or feel nervous about attempting certain type of questions, note them down in your tracker. Next thing to do is, work hard as much as you can to rectify those errors. Take help of classmates, teachers or online platforms to get any doubts resolved. I can guarantee one thing, as you would start ticking off those errors, there won’t be any greater motivation. This way is tough, involves long study hours and maybe a few breakdowns but this is the one that would work the most. Instead of those motivational posters, put a print of excel tracker to motivate yourself.

4. Digital Distraction:

Technology can be very helpful and distracting at the same time. There are numerous Whatsapp and Facebook groups that are named after CAT prep but there is hardly anything relevant there. Stay away from them, totally away.

5. Life is good:

MBA from a good b-school would give access to opportunities that are hard to get by. Imagine yourself growing in career, bagging average packages which are at least 30 times the per capita income of the country, stints abroad. Hard work of 6-7 months versus returns that would last a lifetime. Isn’t it a great deal?